Sometimes You Gotta Call In The SWOT Team!
Years ago, while learning to be a better leader, one of my mentors introduced me to the SWOT Analysis. This is the art of taking your current program or event and evaluating it in 4 areas. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
This concept was birthed by colleagues at Harvard Graduate School of Administration in 1965. It became much more known in 1998 from the book Strategy Safari. (wikipedia). It has been used in business and marketing, as well as non-profit organizations for many years.
We would open up the discussion to first discuss the strengths of our event or program. What is working? What do we not want to change? This is important to recognize for a couple of reasons. #1. It gives you the ability to celebrate the good things that happened. #2. Knowing what needs to be part of it, helps you also decide where changes can be made.
After that the next question is asked. What are the weaknesses of the event or program? What didn’t work? What could have been better? What needs some tweaking or complete overhaul? In identifying weaknesses, you can avoid those mistakes or misses in the future.
The third things we look at is opportunities. What could we do to make the event/program better? What will help us achieve a greater impact in the ministry? This is usually something that wasn’t tried yet, but has been seen in other programs. It could be a registration system that is new to your team. Or it could be an idea that someone has to ramp up the event or program to go to the next level.
The final element of evaluation is the threats. What has the potential to harm the future of this event or program? This may be security issues, or administrative or budget concerns. Whatever it is, these are the factors that must be addressed if your event or program needs to continue.
Taking the time to evaluate your programs and events is one of the most important things you can do as a leader. And I recommend involving the whole team in the process. Everyone sees from a different point of view, and will have something to bring to the table. And as always, make sure you start your SWOT process in prayer. God’s perspective is the best viewpoint.
And remember – Aim for the Mark every time, because if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time!
Jeffrey Hunter and TheMarkMinistries.com desires to help you find your mark, aim for your mark and hit your mark. We do this through coaching, consulting, and training.
#SWOTAnalysis #StrategicPlanning #LeadershipDevelopment
